New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday said it was "unfortunate and painful" that 70 per cent of defence equipment was still being imported and informed the Lok Sabha that government was working towards manufacturing state-of-the-art equipment indigenously.

"It is unfortunate and painful that 70 per cent of defence equipment is still being imported," he said during the Question Hour.

Antony said till India reached a stage where it could provide state-of-the-art equipment, it would have to rely on imports. "If Indian products are not of state-of the art quality, using them would be dangerous," he said.

The Defence Minister said his ministry had decided to accord first priority to Indian public and private companies which are able to provide such equipment.

In reply to a question on whether there was a time-frame by when India would become self-sufficient in defence production, Antony hoped the process would be "speeded up". He said the procurement policy would be reviewed annually.

Minister of State of Defence, Vincent Pala conceded that there were deficiencies in bullet proof jackets but said these were not "sub-standard".

New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday said it was "unfortunate and painful" that 70 per cent of defence equipment was still being imported and informed the Lok Sabha that government was working towards manufacturing state-of-the-art equipment indigenously.

"It is unfortunate and painful that 70 per cent of defence equipment is still being imported," he said during the Question Hour.

Antony said till India reached a stage where it could provide state-of-the-art equipment, it would have to rely on imports. "If Indian products are not of state-of the art quality, using them would be dangerous," he said.

The Defence Minister said his ministry had decided to accord first priority to Indian public and private companies which are able to provide such equipment.

In reply to a question on whether there was a time-frame by when India would become self-sufficient in defence production, Antony hoped the process would be "speeded up". He said the procurement policy would be reviewed annually.

Minister of State of Defence, Vincent Pala conceded that there were deficiencies in bullet proof jackets but said these were not "sub-standard".

It is equally unfortunate and painful that after so many years, the GOI has not been able to meaningfully attract the Private Sector into this arena, where given half a chance they may have been able to give DRDO and OFB some competition.

It is equally unfortunate and painful that after so many years, the GOI has not been able to meaningfully attract the Private Sector into this arena, where given half a chance they may have been able to give DRDO and OFB some competition.

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The GoI if anything has made sure that the private sector didn't get involved. Only recently when they could no longer hide the disastrous failures of the mostly inefficient public sector which exacerbated the problems during Kargil did things start changing.

For years on end the defense industrial establishment has been a cash cow for politicians and administrators. And frankly I won't be surprised if the development of an indigenous industry was inhibited by influential personnel so as to perpetuate imports and enable the exploitation of the "import license raj" and become the proverbial kids in the candy store.

Frankly every time there is a news story regarding a indigenous weapons system,90% of the time is likely to be concerning some new test.Development process is slow,testing even slower and then the uncertainty whether the system would be accepted or not.

Indian government does not seriously want to pursue more indigenous programs because it would be an end to their kickbacks, we should not be importing more than 25% but we are importing 75% because that's what the government wants and they have no plans to change it.

The private sector was never involved because the country always faced a threat of sanctions. Any private company that was involved in the defence arena would face sanctions too. This was the main deterrence. A second reason is a lack of market and technology denial. Third reason was competition from the PSUs which could absorb huge loses without problems.

This is changing now since the Govt has started spending on the military like never before. JVs with foreign companies is easier and assimilation of new technologies even easier.

New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Tuesday his ministry is all set to create an environment for speedy indigenisation of defence systems and platforms.

â€œWe are making all efforts to create an environment for speedy indigenisation of defence systems and platforms,â€ Antony said while addressing parliamentâ€™s consultative committee attached to the defence ministry.
He also said that certain policy decisions were on the anvil to give a big boost to the defence industry and for the production of futuristic weapon systems within the country.
The meeting also reviewed the performance of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
â€œDRDO-developed MBT (main battle tank) Arjun is being manufactured at Avadi and is in the final phase of delivery of 124 tanks. Army wants to have 124 more tanks of Mark-II Arjun. DRDO is now developing a futuristic MBT to meet the requirements of our army,â€ Antony said.

Appreciating the organisationâ€™s role since 1958, he said: â€œDRDO has played a prominent role in strengthening the countryâ€™s defence preparedness. It has developed cutting edge technologies, strategic and tactical defence systems and developed a dedicated pool of scientific talent as our national asset.â€
DRDO is currently working on various projects like the light combat aircraft (LCA) and its engine, electronic warfare systems, long-range and medium-range missiles, early warning systems, nuclear biological and cemical(NBC) warfare defence systems, low intensity conflict technologies, radars and armament systems, among others.The LCA is approaching its initial operational clearance scheduled for next month and for final operational clearance by the end of next year.

â€œSince low-intensity conflicts are likely to be the norm of the future, the commitments of our armed forces are likely to increase in the coming years,â€ Antony pointed out.
Answering a question on the future strategy of DRDO, its head and the scientific advisor to the defence minister, V.K. Saraswat, said: â€œThe organisation will work wholeheartedly to develop technologies that are denied to us by developed countries. Those which are available will be bought by us and indigenised.â€

During the discussions, the MPs asked the DRDO to reduce cost and time overruns for different projects. They also wanted the quality and workmanship of small arms to be improved and brought on par with global standards.

09:53 GMT, November 16, 2010 defpro.com | Indiaâ€™s Defence Minister Shri A.K. Antony plans to give fresh impetus to the Indian shipbuilding sector by allowing privately held Indian shipyards to participate in naval procurement tenders and, thereby, create greater competition in a market which was previously reserved to so-called Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) or foreign manufacturers. According to Antony, 65 to 70 per cent of the Indian defence equipment is currently being imported. His plan is to â€œreverse this trendâ€.

However, to bring a change to the defence segment, which is still dominated by state-run defence manufacturers, a new government policy for procurement of new equipment is required. In a speech on Thursday, in which Antony announced this major shift, he said: â€œJanuary 2011 onwards we hope to introduce the new Defence Production Policy as well as the Defence Procurement Policy. [...] We are going to take some more drastic steps to achieve our goal of speedy indigenisation.â€ According to Anthony, this policy change towards an equal public-private competition in government procurement programmes will initially be limited to the Navy and would then gradually be extended to procurement procedures of the Army and Air Force.

Antony stated that the governmentâ€™s aim is to support a strong indigenous defence industrial base and emphasised: â€œa country like India cannot indefinitely depend on foreign suppliers for majority of our equipments.â€ The process of indigenisation as yet was focussed on strengthening PSUs in their efforts to develop and manufacture defence equipment. However, many national procurement programmes have been troubled by delays, increasing costs and technical problems.

As defpro.com reported earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence and Indiaâ€™s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) exchanged blows in a general dispute on the delays in procurement programmes (see http://goo.gl/5D0fO). After the DRDO was criticised for various delays in defence projects, the organisationâ€™s chief, V K Saraswat, defended the DRDOâ€™s performance and accused, in particular, the Armed Forces of preferring the procurement of existing, foreign solutions over indigenously developed and manufactured defence systems. â€œThe services also must understand that while the temptation may be overwhelming to field proven, state-of-the-art imported systems, they (domestic industry) too have a role to play in the economic and industrial growth of the country. No foreign system can be customised to completely address our long term requirement,â€ he said in May.

In a written statement to members of the Parliament of India in early May, the Defence Minister laid out the delays and increases of costs of prominent defence programmes. These include the Tejas light combat aircraft (4 years delay), the development of a naval light combat aircraft (more than 4 years delay), the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (more than 15 years delay) as well as the engine for the light combat aircraft (14 years delay) â€œDelayed Projects of DRDOâ€). Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju also put his finger on this weak spot by pointing out the need of competitive and reliable PSUâ€™s and Ordinance Factories (OFs), adding: â€œWe should strive hard in ensuring adherence to delivery schedules so that our Defence PSUs and OFs will also emerge as reliable global players in the field of Defence Production.â€

Ongoing huff between the Defence Ministry and the DRDO, OFs and PSUs may be a unique chance for privately held Indian defence companies to get their foot in the door and take advantage of a more competitive national market. It will furthermore open up opportunities for foreign investment in Indian companies, in particular in shipyards, and far-reaching industrial co-operation with international partners. This may also increase technological capabilities and knowhow of Indian companies and create additional jobs.

Antony clearly outlined the path for both PSUs and the private sector to begin as of next year: â€œThere is no option, but to remain globally competitive and efficient and not rest on past laurels, or achievements. Both the Defence PSUs and the private sector must carve out respective niches for themselves, by developing their own fields of specialisation. These specialisations must complement each otherâ€™s efforts and thus generate an even more healthier and competitive environment.

In light of comprehensive plans to restructure the DRDO, in order to make the organisation more effective and to create a greater Armed Forces-DRDO-industry interface, the new policies must achieve a structural and political environment which allows the private sector to join research and development activities with interest to national security and to receive a transparent access to government procurement programmes. In his speech, Antony stressed the need for R&D and constant coordination between the DRDO and the Industry Partners. Thus, the mammoth political task of transforming the DRDO into a sustainable organisation for future Armed Forces requirements is being increased by the effort to converge the interests of the public and the private sector.